All The Possibilities
by Mistress of the Dusk
Summary: Vlad shows up in Danny's bedroom one night with a proposition that could change everything. Will Danny even consider the older halfa's offer? And what is with Vlad's cryptic attitude? Please R&R if you'd like!
1. A Midnight Meeting

**Hey there! This is my first fanfiction, so enjoy. Please review, I could use all the help I can get! This is for now just a long one-shot, but I might add more to it in the future.  
><strong>

**I own none of the DP universe: All credit goes to Butch Hartman and his brilliant mind.**

* * *

><p>The night skies over Amity Park were surprisingly bright; the expected cloud cover had disappeared, leaving millions of stars twinkling lazily over the sleeping town. A figure cut through the peaceful scene, the dark figure appeared menacing against the pale contrast of the moon. Soaring quickly across the sky, Vlad Masters cursed at his exposure.<p>

_"Oh __butter __biscuits,__I __should __have __know__n better __than __to __trust __those __fools__ on __television!"_ When he returned from his little field trip, he would simply buy out the TV network and fire the fools. But that didn't matter, at least not right now.

_"Focus, __Masters!"_ he scolded himself; he would arrive at his destination soon enough. The summer breeze shifted slightly as he veered toward the center of town. While the breeze would normally ruffle his slicked back hair and priceless Armani suit, it simply brushed off the skin of half ghost side.

_"One __of __the __perks__ of __being __half __dead,"_ the older man sighed to himself. The elder halfa picked up the pace after that, glancing at his watch. It was well past midnight - surely the boy would be finished fighting those vulture imbeciles by now. Masters had personally attended to that. He crossed the familiar streets overhead, his eyes closing in on the only house with neon lights reading the phrase '_Fenton__ Works__'__._

_"That idiot. Of course Jack would create something to keep the neighborhood up 24 hours a day." _

No matter, the most important thing to worry about was the thin green screen surrounding the house. He scoffed at the shield's simplicity, sending out a brief apology to Maddie as he shorted out the device with a quick ecto blast. He took a deep breath and phased inside. The house was quiet and quite cold - it was the middle of summer, after all._ "At __least __the __boy's __ghost __sense __will __take __longer__ to __detect __me," _he grinned, slowly making his way upstairs. Knowing Jack Fenton, there were probably a few foolish booby traps lurking in the walls.

_"I __better __make __this __quick,__ I've__ taken __long__ enough __as __it __is." _As he approached the bedroom, Masters hesitated; it was a new feeling and he did not enjoy it one bit. Muttering darkly to himself, he silently argued with himself for a few excruciating seconds.

_"Will__ Daniel __hate __me __for __this?"_ The thought of the look of hatred and mistrust in Daniel's eyes still haunted him after every fight, every encounter. No, soon all of that would change. And it would begin tonight. "_He__ will __thank __me __for __this __one __day. __I'm__ sure __of __it." _His resolve strengthened, he silently entered the room. He heard the sound of shallow breathing - Daniel must have just fallen asleep.

_"Good.__This __will __make__ this __whole __operation __a__ hell __of __a__ lot __easier."_ Floating silently to the bed, he glanced briefly at the sleeping teen. His small frame was still, his face calm and serene. Masters couldn't help but let out a small smile - it was a rare occurrence to see Daniel's face void of any emotion, especially when Vlad was involved. He inched closer to the young halfa when he saw the signal. Blue frost shot out of Daniel's mouth, and suddenly those piercing blue eyes were staring straight up into Plasmius' glowing red ones.

"Good morning, Daniel." The young boy reacted quickly, grazing the elder's jaw as Plasmius drew back. The tension grew quickly, an intense, mistrustful gaze settling on Danny's face as he transformed into Phantom.

"What the hell do you want, Plasmius? Another pathetic shot at winning over my mom and me? I bet that cat of yours is missing you, so why don't you just get the hell out of here?"

Vlad dropped his iconic smirk, abandoning his usual witty banter in favor of a more somber attitude. He stood still for a moment as Daniel took in the sight.

"My dear little badger, I didn't come here to fight you or kill your idiot father. Not even your beautiful mother brought me here." Danny's face contorted in confusion.

"Then... What do you want?" Vlad frowned, "You don't remember, my boy? It's our anniversary!" The elder chuckled as the boy's face turned from confusion to bewilderment.

"What are you talking about, you fruitloop?" Vlad stepped forward slightly, "It was so long ago this very day that we first met and became mortal enemies! I thought you'd remember the day that you swore yourself against me to protect your idiot father and beloved mother. Such a future you could have had, Daniel!"

The boy started to make a heated reply, but was cut off quickly. "No, Daniel. I'm not here to convince you of anything. In fact, let's say I'm here to make a peace offering"

"No way," Daniel replied shortly. "Just get out of here. My answer is still no, anniversary or no anniversary. I will never join you, fruitloop. You should know that by now. Or do I have to beat it into you?"

Danny made a quick move to attack, but his rival simply held up his hands and sighed. "Very well, little badger. But here, this is for you." He held out a small box with a green bow. Danny looked at the object, apprehensive about taking it. "It won't bite, I promise. Please, Daniel. Why don't we try to start over, hmm? This date not only marks an event in the past, but can shape an event for the future." The elder placed the box on the nightstand, turning to face the boy once more. "We are so alike, Daniel," he sighed. "We could be – "

But Danny had heard enough. "I AM NOTHING LIKE YOU!" he shouted, his body shaking. He stopped a moment to calm down. Looking at his rival straight in the eye, he quietly added "and I never will be." The venom was clear as the night sky and his gaze nothing short of menacing.

Vlad looked pained for a moment and sighed again. "As you wish, little badger. Your life, your choices." As he turned to leave though, his voice turned to ice. "Just consider ALL the possibilities." And in a flash, the elder was gone.

Now alone in his room, Danny quickly reverted back to his human self and flopped on his bed. His head was already swimming from ghost fights and lack of sleep, but Vlad showing up of nowhere, while expected, was just unsettling. Staring at the small gift a moment longer, Danny yawned and resigned himself to think about it in the morning. The young halfa drifted off to sleep pondering Vlad's words.

"_What __did __he __mean,__consider __all __the __possibilities?__" _But Danny thought no more as sleep overtook him once more.

A few weeks had passed as Danny's summer vacation came to a close. Over that time, Danny had indeed thought about what Vlad had said, despite his friends' protests. "Don't worry about it, Danny. He's just trying to mess with you." Sam and Tucker had used those words several times in the past few days, but something still kept Danny on edge. It was the last day of summer vacation when Danny decided to act. If Vlad was really trying to be civil, why couldn't he give it a shot? That night, he took Vlad's gift out of the drawer he had attempted to hide it in. Danny just didn't have the heart to throw it into the Ghost Zone like he originally planned. He couldn't explain it, but he was, well, weirdly attached to it.

"_Okay,__here __goes __nothing.__"_ Danny slid off the ribbon and opened the package carefully. Taking a deep breath, he heard the box creep open. Peering inside, he saw a glimmering object. Rolling his eyes at Vlad's expensive taste, he gingerly took a platinum wrist watch. Imbedded with the blackest onyx and personalized with Phantom's logo on the face, Danny marveled at the gift, slightly amused at how much detail went into the gift. Enclosed in the box was a note from the V-Man himself.

_To My Little Badger, _

_Please accept this humble token I've had made for you from my grandfather's old watch. It is a family heirloom, and since I have no children, I thought it would best go to you. It is my hope that you enjoy it and that it may guide you to a successful future. _

_Yours Truly, _

_ Vlad_

Staring at the note for a moment, Danny soon pushed it aside to examine the trinket further. After clearing it for any tricks or traps, the teen grinned and slid the watch on his wrist. "Well, here's to you, Vladdy." He clicked the watch into place, but did not hear the familiar tick. "Damn, the clock has to be reset." After fiddling with the dials and setting all the faces right, he secured the watch and clicked it back onto his wrist.

The effect was instantaneous. As quickly as the watch clicked, Danny suddenly felt numb. He started to scream as he slumped down to the floor, but the noise caught in his throat. He heard the watch beeping. Then came the pain. It was excruciating, worse than everything and anything he had ever felt. Worst of all he couldn't scream for help. His parents were right downstairs, his friends a phone call away. And he couldn't do anything. He couldn't fight it and he couldn't go ghost. Panic started to set in as the pain became too much, his whole body burning and stabbing as he was shrieking in internal agony. He didn't notice the beeping growing steadily faster and faster. The world became fuzzy, a giant blur that wouldn't stop spinning. The watch was beeping like a time bomb about to go off; Danny was going to die right there, he just knew it. But then it stopped.

The world stopped spinning as the white hooded figure of Vlad Plasmius towered over him, his face filled with triumph and pride. Danny looked on in shock, the silver of trust shattered like the rest of him. Swimming in and out of consciousness, he heard Vlad's sickening gloat as he scooped the teen off the floor. "You didn't really consider ALL the possibilities, did you my boy? I knew your logic skills were dull, but really, you could do better. Your choice to open my little gift has brought you right where I want you. Now your future is clear and bright, with me by your side. Don't worry, your friends and family will forget – I'll see to that." He carried the boy to the window, Danny's eyes wide in shock. Vlad chuckled as he gently put his fingers through the boy's raven locks. "Say goodbye, Daniel. You'll never see this place again. And this is only the beginning! Oh, the future is looking up, little badger, just you wait and see." Vlad let out a mirthless laugh that sent shivers down Danny's spine. Aching and utterly distraught, Danny finally sank into darkness as Vlad flew with him across the shining skies of Amity Park, the elder's prize finally captured and won.


	2. Awakening and Discovery

**Hey everyone, turns out I'm a big fat liar. There is much more to this story than I thought originally. I'm very excited to be writing this piece. I'll be working on a few other DP projects too, so I hope you look forward to that too. Thanks so much to everyone for such awesome reviews. Please keep them coming! I'll be doing some edits as the story progresses, so bear with me. **

**I own none of the DP universe: All hail its creator Butch Hartman!**

**This is an all Danny Chapter with a few twists and turns along the way. Please enjoy :)  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Echoes and shadows… a cool breeze and the smell of grass… a cold feeling pressing so close to him… and that feeling of dread… pain and piercing red eyes… that bone-chilling laugh…; Danny's eyes shot open, gulping down breath like he'd never had before. It was pitch black as Danny groped around the area for a light. He was surprised he could move anything at all, after what happened last night… no, he pushed the event out of his mind. It was so… humiliating. <em>"I'm surprised that maniac hadn't tied me up or something…" <em>Instinctively, Danny reached for his wrist at the thought of more hidden surprises and felt only his bare skin. It was like the watch was never there. The young boy shivered, remembering Vlad's cruel trick all over again. To avoid traveling down that road any further, Danny carefully reached out his hand and reached fervently until he found a lamp switch. The light, though dim, revealed enough to make Danny gasp.

It was a familiar place – a small bedroom with wooden floors and white walls filled with NASA posters. In the corner was a collection of Dumpty Humpty CDs, even the model _Challenger_ Danny had build with his father. A picture of his best friends stood on the tiny nightstand next to the bed. "T-This is my room. THIS IS MY ROOM!" Danny heaved a sigh of relief as he jumped out his bed and landed on the squeaky floorboard. This was only further proof. Danny jumped up and down on the board a few more times - it used to get him in trouble with his parents if he was up past curfew. "Calm down Danny, you don't want to get grounded for making a hole in the floor." He ran towards the door, his relief and excitement clear on his face - _"I'm okay. It was all a sick, twisted nightmare!"_ Slamming the door against the wooden frame, Danny darted down the hallway. "Mom! Dad! I…" He stopped abruptly and froze in place, his face filled with disbelief.

It wasn't home. The hallway he stepped into was dark mahogany with plush red carpeting, displaying dozens of prominent pictures on the wall. They were almost all the subject of his hatred- Vlad Masters. Danny's mouth dropped open in horror. "No way…" Carefully retreating back to his bedroom, his shock was too much to contain. "That fruitloop made a carbon copy of my BEDROOM? W-WHAT?" Danny, to say the least, was officially creeped out. He couldn't stand looking at the bedroom any longer; the comforts of home definitely DID NOT belong in a place like this. "I-I've gotta get out of here and figure out what's going on," the raven sputtered, closing the door and leaving the lie behind him.

Backing away slowing down the hall, Danny was instantly hit with his most obvious choice of action. "Right, I'll just go-ghost and find Vlad and…" No, he wanted nothing to do with the elder halfa. "Right. Leave now, destroy Plasmius later," Danny reminded himself. The teen took a running start and jumped slightly, ready to fly through the roof and get back to reality. "Okay then, I'm going-gho-" But the teen stopped short and was surprised as he fell back to the ground completely human. He sighed, mentally kicking himself in the process. "I should have known that Vlad would play dirty and short out my ghost powers. What a jerk." He felt his temper rise quickly at the thought of the older man sauntering around this place with that stupid grin holding all the cards in this game they played. "You're gonna get it, Masters. Just try and mess with me now. I swear it will not end well." Danny's voice was dangerously low as he ran through the halls, not recognizing any room he ran through. It had all the opulent, classic features Vlad would integrate into his mansions, but Danny had destroyed enough of those rooms to know Vlad's Wisconsin mansion when he saw it. "The house is practically deserted," the young boy thought as he ran down another hall, "then again, if something _is _here, they must be keeping themselves awfully well hidden."

Choosing a door that revealed some sort of library, he gave the room a once over. "Books? No thanks." But something else caught his eye. On a nearby desk sat an array of photographs in a variety of frames. Walking over to take a closer look, Danny was surprised that they weren't of Vlad getting some award or achievement. In fact, he was even more surprised to see his own grinning face staring back at him. _"I never knew the fruitloop had these…"_ There were several pictures of him growing up; there even shots of his ghost half. _"I don't know if I should be flattered or weirded out."_ The teen continued to scan over the photos, focusing on one in particular. The picture near the very center of the desk surprised him the most. It was the family picture his parents had taken last spring. Danny remembered the day well. His parents had dragged him and Jazz out of bed, declaring they had a session for the picture in twenty minutes. It was the only time his saw both his parents out of those jumpsuits. It actually was a nice, normal family moment. Something the Fentons didn't experience that often. Even Jazz looked pretty that day. But after the pictures were taken, there was trouble.

"Vlad…" the boy muttered. The young halfa had a brutal fight with the elder that night. It took Danny awhile to recover from that one. "Is this what he was mad about? This picture?" He decided to take the picture with him. Maybe he could get some answers about it out of Vlad later. He folded the picture carefully and pushed it in his pocket. It was time to get going. Besides, the room was now making him uneasy – something just didn't feel right. He quickly made his way out of room, shut the door firmly behind him and returned to running. Danny had been running for the past twenty minutes, but there was no exit to be found. "Maybe the next door will be the way out of this impossible place. Great, right or left? I went left last time, so right it is." Every corner he turned, the worse the panic set in. Danny felt like he was running forever. The dim ceiling lights guiding him flickered slightly. Feeling a bit uneasy, the raven took a quick look behind him; he swore someone was following him.

He didn't have time for this. Instead of slowing, Danny picked up the pace, his focus returning slightly. The more he ran, the darker the hallways appeared. He didn't try any more doors; most of them were locked, anyway. After picking a few more halls and running down a flight of stairs, the teen suddenly stopped, his exhaustion getting the best of him. Running was never his strong suit. Sam used to taunt him about it, pushing him to be more athletic. He was a half-ghost crime fighter, for Pete's sake! Danny sunk down to the ground. Sam. Tucker. Mom and Dad. Jazz. He felt a pang of involuntary homesickness. It felt like hours since he left that bedroom. _"Am I ever going to get out of here?"_ He pushed himself back up reminding himself of his family and friends waiting for him. "If you don't get up, you never will."

It was almost pitch black as he stared into yet another hallway. He sighed again in anger. "All these damn hallways! And they all have pictures of HIM! It's like he's mocking me!" Danny knew that he was quickly losing this battle with the house. "VLAD, IF YOU DON'T HELP ME OUT OF HERE, YOUR HUMAN HALF ISN'T GOING TO BE ALIVE MUCH LONGER!" he yelled in frustration. Making a last ditch effort before he was alone in the dark, Danny darted down one of the halls in front of him. He heard a slight popping sound as the lights flickered their last light, quickly going out one by one. Danny swore he heard laughing. Emotions already running high, Danny ran aimlessly in the dark, his anger and panic creating a powerful adrenaline rush. _"That's it. I'm not gonna make it out of here. I'm a goner, I'm a goner…"_ The lights were failing with greater intensity, the teen just barely keeping up with the remaining light. Then he saw it.

A single door or at least the outline of one was at the end of the hallway. But he was now losing to the lights - it was completely dark. Carefully making his way towards the door, Danny suddenly tripped and fell hard onto the carpet. "What the hell? I did NOT just trip over nothing." Looking back and feeling the ground, the young boy concluded there was nothing that could have tripped him, aside from his own two feet. And he knew he didn't do that. "This is NOT good," the young halfa muttered. "I'm wasting time. Let's finish this." Struggling to get back up, he felt heard something shift behind him. "Who's there? Hello?" Danny shouted some more into the dark, looking for something he knew he couldn't see. A ghost? Or something… else? The teen started to back towards the door slowly, listening to hitched, raspy breathing that didn't belong to him. A breathy laugh escaped the stranger's throat. Danny filled with dread as he inched closer to his destination, the door now only a few yards away.

"_Nooooooo, I don't think soooooo…."_ a hoarse, thin voice screeched from behind him. It sent chills down the boy's spine. He felt something brush his leg as punched randomly into the dark.

"G-Get away from me!" he shouted. Fear was definitely setting in now. Scrambling to the door, he reached for the silver knob; it was almost within his grasp. But suddenly he felt heavy, a pressure pulling him slowing from the door. It was all-consuming and Danny struggled to move. Large dark claws were hooked around his legs, dragging him away from the door. "No. Not again." He at once started to fight the power, desperately trying to become Phantom once more. "Vlad wouldn't let me die – no, don't think about him. C'mon Danny. Save yourself!" The boy at once became still, pouring all his focus into finding Phantom once more.

"_Fighting is pooooointlessssss. You're mine, booooooooy…"_ the stranger laughed again, pulling the teen further into the darkness with increasing speed. Danny groaned, making the stranger cackle with glee. _"Yessssss. Give up, booooooy…"_ Danny shifted slightly as he pushed himself up from the carpet, his face revealing a small smile. The stranger didn't notice this action, making his way happily across the hall. The stranger also failed to notice as Danny whispered to himself, barely audible as blinding white rings rapidly appeared around the boy's middle.

"I don't think so, buddy."

The stranger let out a pained screech as Danny became Phantom, sending out a stream of glowing ecto blasts into the darkness. Danny flew up off the floor, flying a good few feet above the stranger. The stranger let out another wail as it writhed on the floor, its shadow now visible as Danny continued the ecto-bombardment. "Don't like the light, hey tough guy? Well, try this on for size!" Concentrating as much energy as he could, the halfa let loose a charged blast that lit the whole hall. The ball of ectoplasm was immense and gave off an eerie glow. It looked so… alive. Looking in disbelief at the power he had summoned, he watched the monster panic and cower in fear. The creature screamed, fleeing the boy as blast followed him. Danny looked on in horror at the scene, but it was too late to stop it. Directly striking the hideous creature, Danny watched as the monster's figure shattered under the blast, leaving only ash and scorch marks behind.

Keeping a small ecto-light alive in his hand, the teen stared at the sight, shocked at what he had just done. Letting out a small laugh in disbelief, he punched his fist into the air. He couldn't believe it. He had overridden Vlad's device and gone ghost; he had even released one of his most powerful attacks yet. "Yeah! That'll teach you to mess with Danny Phantom!" Hovering slightly and grinning ear to ear, Danny couldn't help but feel the guilt return. He stopped for a moment, once again looking at the remains of the thing that tried to – do what exactly? _"Well, if he was trying to help me, I don't think this is how he should have gone about doing it. A simple 'hey, I'll show you the way out' would've been good."_ The boy looked uneasy, running his hand through his snow white hair. "I've never actually _killed _anything before. I mean, setting those guys back into the Ghost Zone is one thing, but this is new. I definitely _will not_ make that a habit." His smile dropping to form a somber frown, Danny reached for the door, hoping that it would finally lead him home. He refused to change back to normal despite his growing exhaustion – there could be even more danger behind those doors. But content and confident at his decision, he pulled open the door and flew inside.

And came face to face with Vlad Masters.

"DANIEL FENTON!"

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry, I can be such a troll. Here's a little cliffhanger for you. I'll hopefully have the next chapter up sometime next week after I finish stressing about my SATs...<strong>

****What did you all think? There are so many directions I can pull this plot, I'm so pumped!**  
><strong>


	3. Fights and Realizations

**Wow. I'm a loser. And a complete fail. I said I would update, and how long ago was that? WAY too long. Many apologies to all my wonderful readers. I never expected to have as many followers and faves that I have! So, thanks so much for sticking with me! Well, I hope I don't disappoint. The next chapter is in progress already, so I promise an update VERY soon! **

**Of course, Danny Phantom doesn't belong to me. Butch Hartman owns these lovely characters.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>"WHAT. WERE. YOU. THINKING?! YOU CHANGE BACK RIGHT NOW, BOY! DON'T MAKE ME…"<p>

The teen had just enough leftover adrenaline to dodge Vlad's hand as rolled to the side. He easily flew out of the elder's reach, watching his rival stumble and sputter. He stared a split second at his surroundings, welcoming the brightly lit atmosphere. They were in a well lit room filled with windows, the walls a pristine white. With the grand piano and elegant furniture, Danny mused at the fact that Vlad owned such a ridiculous looking space. It looked slightly Victorian, but it was something Sam would definitely find stuffy and overrated. He chuckled at the thought, his mind torturing him with fond memories of his friends._ "Man, you really have to work on your redecorating skills, Vlad…"_ The painful smack and yell of frustration brought Danny quickly back to reality. The teen couldn't help but laugh out loud as Vlad quickly turned around with a pained expression on his face, clutching his hand. He was still human, which surprised the young halfa. But what surprised him more was the glint of confusion etched into Vlad's eyes, hidden only behind anger and exasperation.

"Hitting something other than me, Vlad? I think you're getting crazier every day…"

Instead of the instant retaliation he was expecting, Danny watched as Vlad quickly transformed into his ghost-half and made to move toward the young halfa. He watched as Vlad stopped suddenly and floated silently, never looking away from his young adversary. Even though breathing wasn't exactly a priority, Danny stared bewildered as Vlad closed his eyes and took deep breaths. _"What is this, a calming exercise? Has Vlad really gone insane?"_ One by one, these questions continued to pop up into Danny's mind._ "This has gotta be a joke. Why won't he fight?" _More theories and problems flooded to the boy's mind as the minutes ticked by, resonating throughout the room thanks to a nearby grandfather clock. Unsure of what to do with himself, Danny simply flew higher, observing the scene in case Vlad had any tricks up his sleeve. After a few more moments, the elder stopped what he was doing, stared straight up at the hovering teen, and began to speak once more. Vlad wore a resigned look on his face, which was an uncommon feat for anyone, much less Danny, to see clearly etched on his face. His hands were up above his head, free of any potential weapon or ectoplasm.

"Daniel, I know you don't trust me, but you need to come down and change back to your human form. The consequences-"

"Why? So you can have the advantage? I'm not as stupid as I look, Plasmius."

"Please, Daniel. What is happening to you isn't normal! If you don't change back…"

"Oh, drop the concerned act!" Danny flew around the room, feeling restless. "It's YOUR fault I'm in this mess! So come on, tell me why the heck we're even in this place!" The teen was shaking slightly; sure, he was upset, but he'd never felt quite like this before. Vlad wasn't even putting up a fight – no banter, no harsh insults about his parents, no great reveal of another one of his evil plans. _"He won't even make an effort to come after me!" _ Testing his limits on Vlad's sudden use of patience and tolerance, Danny shot a few ecto-blasts right in his rival's direction. The elder deflected them easily, but eyed them carefully as they hit the wall behind him. The impact created rather large, smoking craters; the glowing white walls were now burnt and charred, ashes pooling on the wooden floor.

Alarm flashed across Vlad's face._ "This is not good. Why has Daniel become so powerful? It couldn't be. No way that could happen to him. But if I'm right…"_ Vlad took a step forward as Danny continued to circle the room like a hunter determining how to best slay his prey.

"Daniel. Let me help you. Your ecto-signature is out of control. Something is terribly wrong, and if I'm right, it will-"

Danny repressed a snort, rolling his eyes dramatically as he cut Vlad off again. "You want to help me? Fine. Give me directions to the nearest loony bin and I'll check you in. Heck, I'll even carry your bags in for you." The anger flashed quickly back into the elder's face. _"Damn it! Why does Daniel insist on making my blood pressure skyrocket!?" _

"If you would just cooperate a moment, Danny! I don't want to fight you!"

Danny paused a moment, but only for just a moment. His restlessness was growing rapidly, and the teen was shaking even harder. He was angry and confused, not to mention his head was spinning. Why wouldn't Vlad make this easy for him? This overwhelming need to fight, to burn off his emotions, was getting to be too much. He saw the fear in Vlad's face, an emotion that was rarely displayed in a man like Vlad Masters. What was Vlad so afraid of? A thought dawned of the young halfa; that Vlad's fear brought a certain degree of compliance. Danny was going to get answers, and he was going to get them NOW.

"Then why bring me here? You were happy enough to make me feel right at home with that bedroom of yours. What is wrong with you? Don't you GET IT? I'll never join with you, forced, threatened, or otherwise!" The elder finally snapped. Roaring in anger, Vlad put up a full frontal assault, which Danny relished with glee as he dodged the attacks and retaliated. THIS was the Vlad he knew; a crazed old fruitloop with too much money and DEFINITELY too much time on his hands. Ecto-blasts ricocheted off the room as Danny plummeted from the ceiling to meet Vlad on floor-level. Punches and kicks flew among the ectoplasm, but gave Vlad a distinct advantage on the younger's smaller frame.

Struggling against the elder's moves, Danny gave a surprised yelp as Vlad landed a critical move, pinning Danny to the floor under the elder's crushing grip. Vlad grinned, the anger in his eyes filling with malicious intent. He paused thoughtfully as the Danny struggled against his grasp. "You weren't laughing when you got so caught up in that little maze, were you Daniel? Is the great Danny Phantom still afraid of the dark?" Vlad hissed, his voice hinting at a genuine cutting tone. Danny was caught off guard by the elder's remarks. Staring down at his rival, the two paused for a moment; the sound of a grandfather clock chiming broke the sudden silence. The deep sound resonated throughout the room, repeating six times.

Danny spoke with a quiet intensity as the chimes died away for the final time. "Come off it, Plasmius. I beat your stupid maze AND got my ghost powers back. I even torched one of your creeps while I was in there." Though no emotion was showing in his face, Vlad was hit with a fresh wave of concern and alarm. It was an unnerving statement; in fact, it was the most coherent thing Danny had said since the two had come face to face. But the troubling thing was this: the teen's voice was no longer completely his own. It not noticeable at first, but Vlad knew it was there. A whisper with a finely sharpened edge that was cold as ice and thirsting for something even he couldn't identify. Vlad knew his suspicions were now confirmed, and that Danny's entire existence was now in jeopardy. And in the same instant, Danny knew that the elder's weakness and his own advantage were one and the same.

Pushing away the elder with relative ease, Danny started his assault once more, his mind pursuing only one objective: to fight and destroy Plasmius. Vlad knew he had to act quickly. His anger flaring up, he continued the struggle to avoid Vlad's swipes at him, listening to the elder screech in frustration. Danny pushed on, knowing that Vlad couldn't keep fighting forever. But Danny felt invincible; he could take Vlad on as an equal, no, as his superior! He was nearly giddy at the thought - he would be free from Vlad's unreasonable intentions for good. These newfound thoughts blazed through his mind as he fought. But it was just that instant of preoccupation that gave Vlad the perfect chance.

Suddenly, Danny was surrounded by not just Plasmius, but by another three identical looking clones. Danny groaned to himself. _"One Plasmius I can handle, but four?! No way."_

Vlad's expression was grim. "I'm sorry, my boy. But you won't like this. Not at all." Danny roared in frustration and went airborne once more. Vlad and his clones followed the boy closely as the fight waged on, attacking him in unison. Vlad rapidly surveyed the fight as his clones each lost their battle with the teen. As another blast skimmed across his face, Vlad looked to see that Danny's had momentarily turned his back to him fighting the last of his clones. This was his chance.

Danny heard it before he saw it. His mind was busting at the seams, his new-found strength flowing freely as he took on each of the clones. And they were falling one by one. Soon there was just one left, but this clone was particularly fast. Circling the young halfa, the last clone went swerved and outmaneuvered Danny's every blast._ "I can't spin in a circle and follow him around like a moron!" _he argued with himself. So he made the choice. He only turned his back on the original Vlad for a second, watching with satisfaction as the clone stopped and exploded at the slightest contact with his ecto-blast. But a voice in his head had suddenly whispered to him, had told him to watch out. It sounded familiar and well-meant, but had a disturbing, emotionless edge to it. The younger halfa was thoroughly shaken by the voice, fear and confusion replaced his pent up anger and rage. The distraction from the negativity in his head in fact cleared it completely, his body now completely calm. But the voice was correct in its warning - Vlad was coming straight for him.

Vlad realized Danny's revelation as soon as the young halfa realized it himself – that Danny's drive to fight was not entirely his own. _"Good, this will make things easier," _Vlad thought, relief edging its way back into his mind. _"But things are still not right. The creature grappling in Daniel's mind is putting up quite a fight..." _The elder saw Danny struggling to fight the creature, and cursed its existence as Danny lost control once again and fired a blast straight in time.

Danny shot another blast in his rival's direction and hoped that his aim was poor. But Vlad simply couldn't avoid it. The hit was solid, and sent the elder crashing into the floor below. The teen swooped down to stand in front of the elder, his arms outstretched in preparation for a new attack. Danny felt it watching his rival struggle to get up off the floor. The power. It was coursing through his veins, giving him a life and energy that was not his own. The calm he had felt in that instant was now gone, crushed by this monster he was struggling to get out of his head. The rage was back, and the creature manipulating it wanted Vlad dead.

"Not so fun being pushed around all the time, huh Vladdie?" Danny formed the words, but his true voice was completely gone. His voice had lost all of its normal tones, developing the sound of something entirely terrifying. Vlad sat up slowly, sorrow and resignation flooding the tired features of his face.

"Daniel, please. Fight it. Don't let it control you!"

Vlad had given up. Danny couldn't believe it; he had won. And his power was growing. He could feel it rising up again, the creature taking his mind, filling his head with venomous thoughts and actions. He could end it, right then and there. All he had to was embrace the voice in his head. Give in and be free. Conjuring up a glowing ecto-blast with ease, the teen looked down upon his first true enemy, his rival both in life and in death. The only other like himself. A pang of regret and defiance leapt up in the young halfa as he stood before this impossible man, this thorn in his side. He was a fruitloop, certainly. A shameless, selfish creep bent of destroying his family? Of course. But underneath all of that was Vlad, dare he say it, a friend?

The creature, however, had other ideas. It reared its head, crashing it soundly into the recesses of Danny's train of thought once more. The creature was screeching, quashing any resistance the teen tried to conjure against it. Danny gave an audible gasp, stepping back slightly as his brain shattered into every feeling once more. But the creature had him, enveloping his every thought, his every move. It filled him with that anger, that desire to destroy. He watched the hope die out of Vlad's face as he released the ecto-blast, now powerful enough to kill.

"Goodbye, Vlad."

Danny felt his hand move and release the attack. He saw the fiery orb fly straight into Vlad. The ectoplasm exploded, its bright light enshrouding the charred remains of the room. As abruptly as those feeling of hate and fury came, they left. Now, the young halfa felt nothing. Staring around at the smoke, Danny stood helplessly, wishing with all his might he could take it all back.

* * *

><p><strong>So, what did you think? What will Danny do now?! What happened to Vlad?! All will be revealed soon! (Nowhere near over though, so stay tuned!)<br>**

** Kinda cliff-hangerish? Hard to read or understand? I didn't know what direction I wanted to go for this chapter, that's why it took forever to write, edit, and post! But please tell me what you think. I need to know where to improve! Reviews are always welcome. Chapter four is in the works, so next update should be soon if I can actually finish packing for college and such. Ramblings over. Thanks so much for reading!**

**-Mel  
><strong>


End file.
